Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Win as a Team, Lose as a Team...

Credit: Kathy Willens/AP

Royals 6, Yankees 2...Jordan Montgomery showed why he is a Major League pitcher. After a few outings that had led to speculation he could potentially be replaced in the rotation, Monty delivered his finest outing yet. The bullpen couldn't hold it but you'll never find a complainer with Montgomery. "I trust those guys coming out of the bullpen. I trust them all. They're doing the best to execute pitches. They've been so great throughout the year already. Nobody is perfect. Win as a team, lose as a team.", Montgomery said in his post-game comments.

Credit: Robert Sabo

Monty took a one-hitter into the seventh inning but gave up a solo home run to Lorenzo Cain. After getting the second out of the inning, Montgomery was pulled for Adam Warren with the Yankees leading 2-1 and no one on, finishing with a two-hit effort. At that point, the bullpen imploded to the tune of four hits and five runs, which allowed the Royals to walk away with the 6-2 victory. After watching Montgomery's brilliant two-hitter, Warren (1-1) allowed two hits to the first two batters he faced, the second a homer by Jorge Bonifacio, while both Jonathan Holder and Chasen Shreve were greeted with solo shots from the first batters they faced in the eighth. Bryan Mitchell pitched a three-up, three down ninth inning but by then, it was too little, too late as the Yankees were unable to rally.It's disappointing to see such a great performance by Montgomery wasted but the overworked bullpen is a byproduct of the overall recent poor performances by the starting rotation. It's hard to fault Warren and Company as it was inevitable they'd crack from overuse and it was really good to see the maturity of Montgomery as he refused to place any blame on his teammates. You could say that manager Joe Girardi should have left Montgomery in the game, but he was at 98 pitches. It was time for his tip of the cap as he walked off the mound.

Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Danny Duffy, the winning pitcher for the Royals, took notice. After the game, Duffy said "He's out there, and he's beyond his years and it's fun to watch him compete."The Yankees scored their only runs in the fourth and fifth innings with solo home runs from Aaron Hicks and Chris Carter, respectively. The Yankees had a chance to close the gap in the eighth when Chase Headley came to bat with two outs and runners at the corners, but his liner to Eric Hosmer, who made a great play, thwarted the attempt. Prior to the game, the Yankees took a moment of silence for the victims of the horrific and senseless terror attack in Manchester, England, playing "God Save The Queen".

Credit: Kathy Willens/AP

The Yankees (26-17) maintained their 1 1/2 game lead over the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East despite the loss. The Orioles fell 2-0 to Ervin Santana and the Minnesota Twins. Santana pitched a complete game two-hitter. The Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 11-6 to close to within 3 1/2 games.

Bird Update...

Greg Bird has resumed hitting off a tee as he begins his journey back from the bruised ankle injury.

I know, that pic couldn't possibly be Greg Bird. He'd never wear his jeans that high up!

The current plan is for Bird to hit in an indoor cage today, rest tomorrow, and take outdoor batting practice on Friday and Saturday. Sunday, he'd travel down to Florida to begin either extended spring training on Monday or start a rehab assignment with High-A Tampa.

It's possible that we could see Bird back with the Yankees late next week or weekend depending upon how things go. Hopefully, there will be no setbacks and he'll be much stronger and healthier than we last saw him.

Gerrit Cole Update...

Yeah, that's probably true.

For the record, Cole did kind of stink it up in Pittsburgh's 5-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Monday. He was almost Masahiro Tanaka-like in lasting only 4 2/3 innings. The Braves teed off him, maybe using Bird's tee, for 10 hits and 5 runs. I guess we can get that production from our own staff without giving up prospects off the MLB Top 100 list.

But all things considered, and throwing in the AL East surcharge on ERA, I'd still take Cole. I know that he spurned the Yankees when drafted a few years ago, but I have to say that for a chance to go to UCLA, I probably would have too.

Gleyber Torres Update...

Tuesday night saw Gleyber Torres in the lineup for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at third base. Rob Refsnyder was at second, and Tyler Wade at short. Physically, Torres really isn't that much smaller than Headley. He is an inch shorter at 6'1" and about 40 pounds lighter at 175 lbs. I guess when I think of third basemen, I think of guys like Kris Bryant (6'5", 230 lbs) but Torres is taller than others such as Justin Turner or Pablo Sandoval. Nolan Arenado sets the bar for third base from a performance standpoint and he's only 6'2", 215 lbs. Torres will continue to pack muscle on his frame so he certainly has the physical attributes to excel at the position. I guess selfishly I wanted to keep third base relatively open or flexible for the possible addition of Manny Machado but I am not going to complain if Torres grabs third for years of All-Star games and World Series Championship rings. Torres was 1-for-3 with a single in the RailRiders' 3-1 loss to the Columbus Clippers. Have a great Wednesday! Time to get a new winning streak started! It's a new day!